Tobacco Cessation

IPFW Tobacco Policy:

Smoking is prohibited in any university facility and on any university grounds. Smoking is only allowed in university parking lots and designated smoking huts.

Tobacco-user additional premium:

If you complete an approved tobacco cessation program by one of the dates below, your additional premium will be waived on all pay you receive in 2012 on or after the lister waiver date.

Complete approved cessation program by May 30 and qualify for waiver of the additional premium on July 1.

Complete approved cessation program by August 31 and qualify for waiver of the additional premium beginning October 1.

To avoid the surcharge in 2013, To avoid the additional premium in 2013, you must certify during benefits open enrollment that you have been a non-tobacco user for the 12 months immediately prior to completing your enrollment or that you are a tobacco user who has completed an approved tobacco cessation program between Sept. 1 and the end of 2013 open enrollment.

Purdue University Tobacco Surcharge:

Tobacco users who do not complete an approved cessation program between September 1 and November 23 will have opportunities to complete an approved program during 2012 to qualify for a partial waiver of the surcharge. Email Judy Tillapaugh upon a cessation completion.

Purdue Tobacco-User Additional Premium

The Purdue tobacco-user additional premium goes into effect on January 1, 2012.

All employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners covered by a Purdue medical plan who are tobacco users and have not completed an approved tobacco cessation program between September 1 and November 24, 2011.

The additional premium is $250 per person in 2012 and will be $500 per person in 2013.

Community programs: If you find a community-based program, please call the Jen Roherty (481-6746) or Judy Tillapaugh (481-6647) before enrolling to ensure that it qualifies. You will need to submit information regarding the program content and its duration. You will need proof of completion returned to rohertyj@ipfw.edu after you finish the program.

IPFW Cessation Options

Classroom

Freedom From Smoking

To help people along the journey to become a nonsmoker, the first three classes offer tips and techniques that prepare participants to quit smoking and the last three classes offer support. Sessions focus on thinking about quitting, relaxation, wanting to quit, quit day, winning strategies, the new you, and staying quit. You must enroll in and complete this in-person program by attending at least five of seven classes in the program.

Online

American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking Online

Freedom From Smoking Online (FFSO) includes a preparation phase for laying the foundation for success, setting a quit day to affirm the decision to quit, and moving into the maintenance phase where sills are identified and support provided to stay tobacco free. To mark completion of each module, a quiz must be completed.

Available to employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners at all campuses.

This online program is designed to help participants get and stay tobacco free. You must complete the program through Step 6. Each step is programmed so that you must wait a minimum of seven days between one step and the next.

Available to employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners at all campuses who are covered by a Cigna medical plan option through Purdue.

Phone

Indiana Tobacco Quitline

The Indiana Tobacco Quitline is available seven days a week. This program is provided by the state Department of Health, and it is available to all residents of Indiana. If you call from a number outside of Indiana, you will be connected to a Quitline for that location.

Available to employees and spouses/same-sex domestic partners at all campuses.

Community Alternative:

If you take part in a tobacco cessation program through other campus resources, hospitals, or community organizations, you may qualify for a waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium, depending on the specifics of the offering.

Before taking part, contact Judy Tillapaugh at 260-481-6647 to review the details of the offering and find out if completion of the program will qualify you for waiver of the additional premium. If the program qualifies, IPFW Health & Wellness will provide you with a Community Alternative form that you must have signed by the community program’s representative when you have finished the program.

Medical Alternative:

If you are unable to participate in a traditional program due to a medical condition, contact Judy Tillapaugh at 260-481-6647 to develop an alternative way to qualify for waiver of the tobacco-user additional premium.

Health Plan Coverage

For all Purdue health plans, the items below are covered 100 percent with no copay. You’re allowed up to a 180-day supply each year.

Over-the-counter items:

Nicotine gum

Nicotine lozenge

Nicotine transdermal patch

Prescriptions:

Chantix tabs, dose packs

Nicotine nasal spray

Nicotine inhalation

Bupropion 150mg SR/Zyban 150mg

To get these products, take a physician’s prescription to your retail pharmacy.

Community Alternative Form: If you are completing an off-campus community tobacco cessation program, you will need to complete the linked form and return it upon the completion of your program.

Medical Alternative Form: If you are unable to complete a university-suggested tobacco cessation program due to a health condition, you may complete this form and have it signed by your health care provider.

Overview

Tobacco use can lead to nicotine dependence and serious health problems. Cessation can significantly reduce the risk of suffering from smoking-related diseases. Tobacco dependence is a chronic condition that often requires repeated interventions, but effective treatments and helpful resources exist. Smokers can and do quit smoking. In fact, today there are more former smokers than current smokers.1

Nicotine Dependence

Nicotine is the psychoactive drug in tobacco products that produces dependence.2–5 Most smokers are dependent on nicotine.2,3

Nicotine dependence is the most common form of chemical dependence in the United States.6 Research suggests that nicotine may be as addictive as heroin, cocaine, or alcohol.3,5

Quitting smoking is difficult and may require multiple attempts.3,4 Users often relapse because of stress, weight gain, and withdrawal symptoms.2,3,4

Health Benefits of Cessation

Breaking free from nicotine dependence is not the only reason to quit smoking. Cigarette smoke contains a deadly mix of more than 7,000 chemicals; hundreds are toxic and about 70 can cause cancer.3,7 Cigarette smoke can cause serious health problems, numerous diseases, and death.3

Fortunately, people who stop smoking greatly reduce their risk for disease and premature death. Although the health benefits are greater for people who stop at earlier ages, cessation is beneficial at all ages.3,8,9

Smoking cessation is associated with the following health benefits:3,8,9

Smoking cessation reduces respiratory symptoms, such as coughing, wheezing, and shortness of breath. The rate of decline in lung function is slower among persons who quit smoking.

Smoking cessation reduces the risk of developing chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), one of the leading causes of death in the United States.

Smoking cessation by women during their reproductive years reduces the risk for infertility. Women who stop smoking during pregnancy also reduce their risk of having a low birth weight baby.

Smokers' Attempts to Quit

Among current U.S. adult smokers, 68.8% report that they want to quit completely, and millions have attempted to quit smoking.1 Starting in 2002, the number of former smokers has exceeded the number of current smokers.1

Percentage of adult smokers who stopped smoking for more than 1 day in 2010 because they were trying to quit:

52.4% of all adult smokers (23.7 million people)1,10

62.4% of smokers aged 18–24 years1

56.9% of smokers aged 25–44 years1

45.5% of smokers aged 45–64 years1

43.5% of smokers aged 65 years or older1

Percentage of high school smokers who stopped smoking for more than 1 day in 2009 because they were trying to quit:

50.8% of all high school students who smoke11

Methods to Quit Smoking

The majority of cigarette smokers quit without using evidence-based cessation treatments.1 However, the following treatments are proven effective for smokers who want help to quit:2

Brief clinical interventions (i.e., when a doctor takes 10 minutes or less to deliver advice and assistance about quitting)

Counseling (e.g., individual, group, or telephone counseling)

Behavioral cessation therapies (e.g., training in problem solving)

Treatments with more person-to-person contact and intensity (e.g., more time with counselors)

Cessation medications found to be effective for treating tobacco dependence include the following:

The combination of medication and counseling is more effective for smoking cessation than either medication or counseling alone.2

Helpful Resources

Publications

The following CDC publications are helpful cessation resources for public health practitioners, businesses, and organizations. Visit CDC's online publications catalog to order free copies of these and other cessation-related materials:

Quitline Services

1-800-QUIT-NOW is a free telephone support service that can help individuals who want to stop smoking or using tobacco. Callers have access to several types of cessation information and services, including:

Free support and advice from experienced counselors

A personalized quit plan

Self-help materials

Social support and coping strategies

The latest information about cessation medications

Over-the-counter nicotine replacement medications for eligible participants (in more than half of U.S. states)

Cessation Services

CDC's How to Quit Web pages provide a variety of cessation tips, tools, and resources.

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing Tobacco Use: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2000 [accessed 2011 Nov 7].

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The Health Consequences of Smoking: A Report of the Surgeon General. Atlanta: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 2004 [accessed 2011 Nov 7].